Esophogeal Dilatation #3

After vomiting last Wednesday Raul began to have a lot of trouble swallowing again. Over the weekend his secretions became thicker and thicker, he was not swallowing at all, and he was frequently choking as he could not clear the secretions on his own. Monday afternoon we finally headed into MGH. As soon as we walked in the door he began choking in front of the check in person, and she rushed us back to the acute section of the ER. 

Luckily he didn't end up needing that level of care, but they still kept him in that area until we were admitted late at night. It took them a long time to decide on PICU or regular floor (we went to the regular floor), do his chest x-ray, and then get an IV in. It took five tries from four different people to get his IV in, and Raul did so well with it all! 

Surgery came and said that they would do his esophogeal dilatation the next day, as these were the same symptoms he had with his other esophogeal strictures. His surgery was late Tuesday afternoon, and Raul did so well that he was able to be discharged later in the evening. He is still drooling and coughing, but there is no more mucus and he is not choking! Hopefully the drool and coughing will subside in the next few days as he heals. We were very glad to be discharged, as it is very hard for Raul to be stuck in bed when he wants to get down and scoot on the floor! He is also always in isolation in his room due to his infections. He is happy to be home and moving around!

Memorial Day Parade

Raul really enjoyed yesterday's Memorial Day parade. Lots of trucks, cars, firetrucks, and motorcycles! He got a flag from one of the groups and he started doing his own parades around the house when we went inside!

ER Visit

The other day we took Raul to the pediatrician as he had been running a higher fever, his skin was bad, and he had vomited the day before irritating his upper airway and esophagus. After waiting a while, they sent us down to the ER, as they weren't sure exactly what to do. We had to wait a while, and poor Raul was so itchy as he needed his midday medicine. We finally got a room, but pediatrics was full so we got put in a staging room. That meant no TV or anything, and child life doesn't come in until later in the evening so they were only able to bring a few little things for him. He got a chest x-ray, which was normal, and then we continued to wait. They came in and said they were thinking of admitting him, but decided after seeing him that we could go home as long as I was comfortable with that. They put him back on two antibiotics, and then it took over two more hours to be discharged! Raul's esophageal issues are just getting worse though. He isn't swallowing any of his saliva, and frequently chokes on the saliva and mucous. We may be heading for another dilatation, but I am still hoping it may just be damaged from the vomiting and heal!

Itching

Raul loves bubbles!

EMS Day

Today was EMS Day in Rockport! Raul has a really rough night. He was up almost the entire night screaming and miserable. He seemed to be in a lot of pain, but does not have infections right now, so I am not sure why it was so much worse. So because of that we didn't leave in the morning as planned. On the way home we stopped at EMS Day in Rockport so Raul could see all the vehicles! That helped his mood, and he enjoyed seeing everything. He got a hat, and he hugged it all the way home, even in his sleep!

Spring in Rockport

This is our first weekend up in Rockport this Spring. Raul didn't sleep more than a couple hours last night. It seemed to be a combination of going to bed a bit late and being in a new place. He was still happy this morning, though, and the weather was nice. We decided to walk to the farm at the end of our street to buy vegetables for dinner and ask about their animals. They were very nice, and told us where to find the horses and cows, and that we were welcome to walk around when they were open. They had a ton of animals! We saw some of their horses first, and they told us about the alpha horse and another large horse. They also had a blind horse that was very sweet. Then we wandered further back and found the cows in their pen. They are meat cows, and are in a pen during the winter, but are going out to pasture soon for the summer. One of the farmers came back in a tractor and we talked to him for a few minutes. All the animals always like Raul! Then we came home and played outside for a while before taking a nice long nap!

First Field Trip

Raul's class went on a farm field trip today, and my mom and I joined them! Raul has been to this farm before, so he was a bit confused to see his school friends there! It was pretty quick, but we looked at the animals and took a hay ride. It was fun to see the other kids in his class, too!

Iron Infusion

Raul had his second iron infusion of this set today. He had a hefty dose of ativan before we left home for IV placement, so he was very out of it. He actually kept tipping over, BUT he didn't make a peep during the IV placement, so it was worth it! We finally got him to lie down for a while so he would stop tipping over! This time the IV stayed in, so he got his full dose. The labs from today showed that the partial infusion he had two months ago didn't make any difference with his anemia. His numbers were all either exactly the same or slightly worse. Hopefully this one will bring them up! He may need one or two more before he crosses over the threshold to not being anemic.